ST Pauli – football is not just about winning or being a
loser, it’s all about people and the principles that are in them.
Kamumauvector – Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany
has a sad history around 845 AD because at that time the Vikings came and
burned all the existing buildings to the ground.
This incident did not just happen once, in total within 300
years after the first tragic event, the Vikings had burned the mainland city of
Hamburg eight times.
Centuries later, bad luck still befalls Hamburg during the
second world war. The city was also the target of Allied attacks.
Again and again hamburg had to taste the bitter pill because
the city was getting bomb attacks that were repeatedly dropped from the sky.
However, hamburg slowly got up and tried to release the very
prolonged trauma. From the ruins of war, Hamburg has been transformed into a
big city that is busy with various kinds of economic and cultural activities.
The same condition also occurs in the field of football in
the city of Hamburg. Because in that city there are outstanding football clubs,
Hamburger SV and FC ST Pauli.
ST. Pauli itself is a district in the city of Hamburg with a
record area of 2.6 sq km and is inhabited by about 27,612 inhabitants. This
area is easy to spot because of its proximity to Europe’s most popular
prostitution scene, the Reeperbahn.
However, another factor that has made ST Pauli’s name famous
is the club and its football supporters who are often associated with the
“left wing” not only in Germany, but in the world as well.
The story of ST.Pauli began against Aegir, at that time in
1907 they had their first match. And at that time they were still named Hamburg
– ST Pauli Turnverein 1862. Until in 1924 they (ST.Pauli) decided to separate
themselves and form their own football club.
As written on their official website, the early days of the
club’s founding did not run smoothly, there were always trials that were very
tough to go through. The lack of achievements and financial problems as well as
the fact that they had to go back and forth in the rankings in the German
premier league competition at that time.
After the second world war, the city of Hamburg was
destroyed, not to mention the football field owned by ST.Pauli which they
usually used to hold matches.
At that time, in the midst of these difficult times, there
came a man named Karl Miller, a German football player who tried hard to
resurrect them.
Then he invited his colleagues, Heinz Hempel, Heinz Köpping,
Walter Dzur, and Helmut Schön to defend the club (ST.Pauli).
In 1946 (a year later) they tried to play in a new place
called Heiligengeistfeld from there, their achievements began to improve.
This is evidenced by the rise of the club’s caste ST.Pauli
so that they can be competent in the top league. And met with FC Schalke, FC
Nürnberg, to his city rivals, Hamburger SV.
History records, ST.Pauli was first promoted to the German
premier league (Bundesliga) in the 1977-1978 season. They were able to carve
their best performance with a detailed record of 19 wins, 16 draws, and only 3
defeats.
Mastered by a coach named Diethelm Ferne, ST. Pauli
transformed into a very fierce football club.
However, their sweet moment did not last long. They only
lasted for one season in the highest caste of German league football and were
cast down in the 1978 – 1979 season.
Since then, good nicks cannot be re-created. They competed
in the second tier of the German league with a record of going up and down to
the top, then dropping back down to the bottom. Likewise so on.
According to Petra Daniel and Christos Kassimeris in their
essay “The Politics and Culture of St.Pauli from Leftism, ThroughAntiestablishment, to Commercialization” published in Soccer & Society
Publication (2013) which recorded a critical period of ST. Pauli could not be
separated from the socio-political context that was turbulent at that time in
Hamburg in the 1970s – 1980s.
At that time, Hamburg was experiencing an economic crisis.
Increasingly rampant prostitution, acts of violence, wars between gangsters,
and the circulation of illegal drugs are common sights in everyday life there.
German government officials who saw the incident took firm
steps that those who were anarchists should be tried, arrested and expelled.
This step was immediately implemented and was able to wipe
out the commotion that occurred in ST. Pauli at that time.
However, the problem did not stop there. The disappearance
of violence in ST.Pauli and its very strategic location made investors and big
business people come and conduct business activities there.
Not only that, another hidden impact was the ideological
influence of right-wing extremism groups which were indicated at that time
slowly establishing their influence in the city of Hamburg.
In 1981, when investors planned to build a mall and housing
estate, it took a toll. This is the reason for the rejection of the
development.
Also because leftist activists predict that there will be
expulsion of immigrants and working class people who migrate and live there.
Not only that, violent incidents peaked when the apparatus
forced them to immediately move by force.
The fire of resistance spread to the world of football. This
is illustrated by the resistance banners “No more fascism, Never again to
fight!” always seems stretched.
Various groups of people participated in the resistance,
which contained rejection of fascism, capitalism, and racism. This is what
created the symbol of a skull and a pair of crossed bones which means: The
resistance of the poor to those of the rich.
After that, entering the decade of the 2000s, the political
ideology of ST. Pauli persisted. When the right ideology, violence, racism, and
sexual harassment spread to the corners of the city, ST. Pauli is at the
forefront of fighting all of that.
He also created various discussion activities to raise funds
for humanitarian assistance so as to make them look very solid.
Not only that, ST.Pauli’s seriousness in
anti-commercialization of football has the consequence that they have
relatively low competitiveness. Because there are not enough funds to
strengthen the club.
Faced with such a situation, Corny Littman club president
2002 – 2010 immediately racked his brain. He then contacted a representative of
the supporters to sit down and discuss together to find a way out.
Finally, from the discussion, the results of the decision on
the steps were obtained. Such as selling merchandise ownership licenses to
third parties, exploiting the potential of local players and young players, to
injecting funds by buying club shares.
Slowly but surely, the efforts that have been put in place
are starting to pay off. This is evident from the improvement of the club’s
finances. And they were able to rise up and managed to escape from bankruptcy.
Not only ST.Pauli, things like that are absolute risks that
must be faced by all football clubs. And one more thing for ST.Pauli, that the
most important thing is to maintain identity.
Author : kamumauvector.com
